THAKSALA HAYLOCK

Hi I’m Thaksala, I am a full time Reception class teacher and Early Years Leader at a school in Ipswich. I also run Rock Paper Stitch once a month and love knitting socks!

My background is in Fine Art and I went to Art school when I finished school. I fell into teaching after working as a visiting artist at a primary school in London where I realised how much I enjoyed working with children. I have been a teacher for over 20 years in East London, Manchester and now Suffolk and am passionate about the early years and making sure children have the best start to their lives in education.

In my free time I like to make art, go to the beach and spend time with my family – preferably whilst eating pizza!

My own creativity

I am mostly a collage artist inspired by typography and food although I also love printing, drawing sewing and painting. I enjoy a trip to the supermarket to look at packaging and how I might recreate these at home using collage. I like to create my own collage papers and am always on the look out for ways to make interesting marks and textures. I am lucky to be able to use my creativity in the classroom too to think about how to make learning fun and engaging for my class.

What inspires me

The children I work with inspire me every day. They have such a sense of wonder and awe about the world around them and fearless with their creativity!

My favourite project

I have loved all the projects I have worked on with RPS but especially the ones with families. I really enjoy meeting families and seeing them working together to create amazing artwork. Our recent project with The Hold for International Women’s Day was one of my favourites as we met so many families and new faces. It’s great when you look around and see everyone getting stuck and involved.

Why I do this

I have been creating for as long as I can remember, I have been very lucky to have had parents that encouraged my creativity. When I found out that there were art schools where you could go and make art all day, I set my heart on going! I wasn’t very academic, so it was great that there was another route for me and I know there are lots of children and adults who feel like this. I think is it so important for children and adults to have the space and time to create in an environment that inspires them.

The Future

I would like to continue to work with children and families and especially younger children as I think they make the best art.